The trucking industry has long had a reputation for lagging behind the technological times. But the last five years has seen tech companies from Silicon Valley and beyond push the pedal to the metal, and suddenly the trucking industry is the darling of the tech world. Considering trucking is a nearly $800 billion industry, it’s no real surprise.

From Silicon Valley to Russia, automated trucks are moving in – which means millions of truck drivers may be forced to move on. The International Transport Forum recently released a report stating up to 70 percent of all trucking jobs around the globe could be wiped out by 2030 as a result of self-driving trucks. The United States currently has about 3.5 million truck drivers, which means a massive wave of unemployed workers will swamp the job market. Ironically, it is the fear of these future layoffs that is contributing to the current driver shortage in America. Too few drivers now, too many down the road.

Outlook for Freight Brokers, 3PLs Strong Amid Change

Even in today’s inter-connected age, the $700 billion trucking industry relies largely on old school paper and phoning processes to complete transactions. The Internet of Things is changing that.

IoT is a big Thing

2017 may prove to be the year trucking fully embraces the Internet of Things (IoT). An estimated 7 billion devices are currently connected to the internet worldwide, with that number expected to reach 20 billion by 2020.

Clutter is Costing you Money (and Sanity)

Going Paperless Can Boost Profits

All other things being equal, disorganization will always put an organization at an organizational disadvantage.

Let me re-state: Get organized or lose money.

In a 2010 study, Brother International estimated U.S. corporations lose $177 billion annually due to office clutter and disorganization. That figure accounts for time spent searching for misplaced paper documents, file folders, and personal items. Messy desks and banks of metal filing cabinets form sturdy foundations for cluttered workspaces. Offsite document storage represents a separate expense. The Brother report concludes the average professional wastes nearly two weeks per year – looking mostly for paper!

Trucking is changing at a dizzying pace, and 2017 is sure to add more chaos and confusion. Automated trucks are on the horizon, Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) will soon be the law (or perhaps not), and a wave of technology is disrupting transportation logistics in ways both positive and perplexing. The role of the Broker/Third party logistics provider (3PL) in today’s transportation landscape is in flux. But 98% of 3PLs agree improved data-driven decision-making is essential to long-term success (Source: Supply Chain Management Review).

Here are three major challenges Brokers still face these days, along with some tech fixes that can alleviate the pain.

Shippers across America and the globe are still grappling with the direct – and ripple – effects of the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy fiasco. In addition to accelerating a likely freight rate spike and capacity shortage by this Christmas, the collapse of the world’s seventh largest container line serves as a dose of cold sea water to companies who value transparency, visibility, and accountability from firms that move their goods.

Since the early 20th century, trucking has emerged as the lifeblood of the American economy. The creation of interstate highways in the 1950s cemented Trucking’s elite status as the main mover of goods across the country. The road hasn’t always been smooth. From the beginning, government regulations have been a source of constant controversy and […]

Moving high-dollar, time-sensitive, fragile freight is a critically important task for many businesses. Some sectors, particularly in the life sciences, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries, require particularly tight oversight and control over their shipments – especially those traveling along the cold chain. Today, that oversight and control is often limited, costly, and disparate.

Virtual Freight Management (VFM) offers a complete and extremely cost-effective solution to most, if not all of these challenges.